The Miracle of The Chore Pass

So, as much as I have committed and recommitted to myself that I wouldn’t treat the children and my home like employees and a business, there are some things that transfer so beautifully it becomes irresistible. It reminds me that no knowledge gained is ever a waste. This one worked out so well that I just had to share.

First some background. Our children are all old enough to help in some way with the chores. Before Kerry and I got married he made it very clear that he wanted them to participate in this area. So, I have been searching for the best way to make this fun and rewarding for them. I finally learned that they do a lot better if they know ahead of time what will be expected of them that day, so I make a calendar for the whole month that lists what chore is to be done by each of them that day. They already help with the dishes (see: anything can be fun) so the chores don’t need to be something big. Instead of “clean the hall bathroom” the chore might be “scrub the shower in the hall bathroom” this is a much less daunting task and I spend a lot less energy trying to talk them into it than if more were required. When the children were all willingly doing their chores I wondered if there were a way to get them to help keep up with the extra stuff that doesn’t need to be done every day, but still needs to be done periodically. (cleaning fridge, scrub walls, etc.)

Management tool: I learned in leadership training that there are really only three main motivators which all things that motivate people fit into. They are Challenge, Power, and Relationship. As a manager if I could get to know my employees well enough to understand which category(s) they fit in, I could structure my management style around them and help them feel like their job is rewarding. Well, in this house there are children that fit in all 3 of these categories. So I needed to come up with a system that helped each of them feel motivated to help.

The Bonus System: Everyday the kids come home and do their homework and a small chore, and then if they choose, they can pick something small off of the bonus list to do. When the children have completed a bonus chore I write a little personal note on their bonus sheet about what a good job they did or how much they helped (motivating my relationship motivated children). Once they reach 10 bonuses they get a “chore pass” to use at their own discretion. This enables them to choose not to do a chore one any given day (for my power motivated kids) and once everyone gets going it becomes a little competitive as to who can earn the most chore passes (for my challenge motivated child).





Last Friday Thursday in the midst of all the Valentine’s cookie bouquets Serena completed our first chore pass. I will have to do one of her chores soon I am sure. In the mean time, my fridge is cleaner, walls are getting wiped down, kids are cleaning out their drawers and getting rid of things that don’t fit them anymore and laundry is getting folded. Seems like a win-win! I love these children!!